Myogenix Hit with Class Action Over Hypershock Bodybuilding Supplement

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Myogenix Hit with Class Action Over Hypershock Bodybuilding Supplement

By Anne Bucher

Supplement maker Myogenix Inc. was hit with a putative class action lawsuit accusing the company of misrepresenting the contents of a powdered bodybuilding drink.

According to the class action lawsuit, Myogenix’s Hypershock bodybuilding supplement powder is advertised as an “Extreme Pro-Workout Product” that contains citrulline malate, a chemical it claims will drastically enhance consumers’ athletic performance. However, plaintiff Edwin Acuna argues that the supplement actually contains negligible amounts of citrulline malate, and therefore, the supplement is unable to deliver the promised results.

Myogenix advertises Hypershock as a product that is “engineered to accomplish 1 thing: RESULTS. Within 15 minutes of consumption, you’ll experience a furious desire to Rage through a workout, and a pump you’ve probably never felt before in your life. At the end of your workout, the results will be obvious … as you count up the sets, reps, and weight lifted.” According to the class action lawsuit, Myogenix also claims that Hypershock was developed after “12 months of development, and much trial and error.” The first ingredient listed on the label is citrulline malate. 

“In reality, Defendant’s Product contains no bio-available amount of Citrulline Malate, and certainly not at the limits stated on the Defendant’s Product label – as confirmed by a recent laboratory analysis utilizing state-of-the-art High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) protocol,” the Myogenix Hypershock class action lawsuit says. 

Acuna says he purchased the Hypershock products because he believed they contained citrulline malate and “thus could cause intense muscle building.” In his class action lawsuit, he claims that he relied on the supplement maker’s misrepresentations when choosing the product. 

Myogenix sells a one-month supply of its Hypershock supplements for approximately $64.99. Acuna says he wouldn’t have paid as much for them, or he wouldn’t have purchased them at all, had he known that the products contained only negligible amounts of citruline malate.

Acuna filed the class action lawsuit “to enjoin the ongoing deception of tens of thousands of California and United States consumers” by Myogenix. He seeks to recover the money the company made from its false advertising. He accuses Myogenix of violating California’s False Advertising Law and the Consumers Legal Remedies Act. Further, he claims that the supplement maker engaged in unlawful, fraudulent and unfair business practices by falsely advertising the contents of its supplements.

In November 2012, Myogenix pled guilty to falsely labeling a supplement that contained a synthetic steroid that required approval by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA). Instead of marketing the product as a drug, Myogenix allegedly knowingly cast it as a supplement to avoid the FDA testing requirements from 2007 through 2009. In a plea deal, Myogenix pled guilty to one felony count and paid a $50,000 fine and $100,000 criminal forfeiture. The supplement maker also committed to independent testing of its products for five years, and must get approval from the FDA before selling any new products.

Acuna is represented by Scott J. Ferrell, Richard H. Hikida and Victoria C. Knowles of Newport Trial Group.

The Myogenix Hypershock False Advertising Class Action Lawsuit is Edwin Acuna v. Myogenix Inc., Case No. 3:13-cv-02673, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. 

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